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Bryan Taylor Opens Up Daylight at the Top of Grosvenor’s NPL

4 hours ago

Samantha Doyle 4 hours ago

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Bryan Taylor leads 2026 NPL with 442.02 points, over 120 ahead.
Sheils tops High Roller standings, but trails Taylor overall.
Season not over—several big events and prizes still to come.

Bryan Taylor is beginning to make the 2026 Grosvenor National Poker League look less like a race and more like a chase.

The Scot has moved to 442.02 points at the top of the standings, leaving Brandon Sheils more than 120 points back in second as the Grosvenor poker season heads into its closing months.

That gap has not come from one big result. Taylor has spent most of 2026 collecting deep runs across GUKPT, UKPL and Goliath events, building a lead that is now becoming difficult to ignore.

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Taylor’s Run Keeps Growing

Taylor’s best stretch came between March and May, when he made 10 final tables, won three events and added seven five-figure scores.

At Goliath, he finished ninth in the Main Event for £26,000 before adding further cashes in the Mystery Bounty and PLO High Roller. He then carried that form into GUKPT Glasgow, reaching the money in the Mini Main, High Roller and GUKPT Cup.

Taylor’s tournament breakthrough came with victory in the 2025 GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event, where he collected £43,920.

Since then, he has been hard to keep off a Grosvenor leaderboard.

Rank	Player	Points
1	Bryan Taylor	442.02
2	Brandon Sheils	321.39
3	Mariusz Czech	313.57
4	Yucel Eminoglu	312.00
5	Robert Douras	304.37
6	Calogero Morreale	287.13
7	Aqeel Butt	278.55
8	Keith Littlewood	277.58
9	Tai Hoang	257.99
10	John Bousfield	246.73

Sheils has done the most to keep Taylor honest.

His Goliath festival included a £54,130 win in the £1,500 High Roller and a runner-up finish in the £2,000 Super High Roller for another £31,500. Those results pushed him into second, although the gap to Taylor remains substantial.

Behind him, things are considerably tighter.

Mariusz Czech sits third on 313.57 points, with Yucel Eminoglu on 312.00 and Robert Douras on 304.37. Less than 20 points separate second from fifth, meaning the real scrap at the moment is taking place behind the leader.

Sheils Has One Lead Taylor Doesn’t

Taylor may be running away with the overall NPL standings, but he has not swept every Grosvenor race. Sheils currently leads the High Roller League with 117.84 points, just ahead of Taylor on 115.94.

Rank	Player	Points
1	Brandon Sheils	117.84
2	Bryan Taylor	115.94
3	Chris Balmforth	76.76
4	Peter Stewart	55.39
5	Conor O'Driscoll	52.60

Taylor is also second in the Low Roller standings, where Robert Douras holds the advantage.

Rank	Player	Points
1	Robert Douras	365.79
2	Bryan Taylor	315.68
3	Calogero Morreale	258.15
4	Helder Casaca-Sena	173.18
5	Mariusz Czech	168.50

Plenty of Poker Left, But Taylor Has the Cushion

The season is still far over. GUKPT Luton is underway, Leeds follows later in September, and the 888poker UKPL Manchester festival will also provide more opportunities for players to collect points.

The overall NPL winner is in line for a £40,000 package, the Player of the Year title and a seat in the £100,000 Playoff Invitational, so there is still plenty riding on the final stretch.